


crimson crown

by jengao



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: M/M, commoner na jaemin, crown prince lee jeno, lots of love and detail went into this!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-06
Updated: 2019-12-06
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:20:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21689746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jengao/pseuds/jengao
Summary: of course an ideal assasination would have taken the crown prince out as well, but it seemed ArcSyn had other intentions for lee jeno. and their plans appeared to include na jaemin.
Relationships: Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin, Mark Lee/Na Jaemin
Comments: 12
Kudos: 70





	crimson crown

a throne built of thorns. a castle built of diamondglass. and a crown coloured in blood. 

crimson red gemstones, ruby red, inlaid in a royal mixture of copper, silver, and gold. the metal twisted together in an intricate, almost inhumane, fashion rested on the head of the crown prince. he sat on the throne, draped in almost all black albeit for the red and gold detailing of his royal uniform. medals and badges of various honour hung from his chest, each carefully pinned and held in place.

he sat in his father’s throne, the queen’s seat vacant next to him. her majesty, his mother by marriage not by blood, had been laid to rest just hours ago. and his father, the beloved king of Solaria, murdered in cold blood within his own castle walls. rebellious insurgents from the south had infiltrated the capital it seemed. 

their only son, the crown prince and only 19, was suddenly the only heir to the throne. and crown prince jeno knew just how vulnerable he was. the Solarian royal court had always been a cesspool of betrayal and personal loyalties, but with his mother and father gone and the kingdom balancing precariously amidst a rising rebellion, the prince had no one to watch his back but his own.

prince jeno sat with perfect posture, shoulders squared as he stared straight into the camera in front of him.

“my fellow Solarians, i come forth today with heartbreaking news. the king and queen, my mother and father,” jeno pauses but his stone cold, emotionless face does not waver, “are no more. both victims of a bloody, treasonous crusade against everything our beloved kingdom stands for. but, i, your crown prince, will not let their deaths be in vain. i will bring their murderers to justice, and quell this pathetic uprising. my own coronation is today, but will be postponed as all royal officers will be put on duty and see to that these insolent pests are exterminated.”

jeno pauses again, this time easing his facial muscles and softening his voice. all calculated, just as his late mother had taught him. 

“may my mother and father rest in eternal peace. i mourn alongside all of you… mother and father dedicated their lives for the good of our people, for our traditions, and for our way of life… we must continue their fight, we cannot let these vagrants win… to the people of Solaria, i, lee jeno, solemnly promise that i will work in your honest favour until the last drop of blood leaves my body. with a new dawn, we will rise again.”

the camera, clicks off, and jeno’s body immediately relaxes. a sigh leaves his lips as he presses a finger to his temple, the start of a pounding headache making its rounds along his skull. these things always tire him out.   
“how was that?”

“brilliant, sire.”

“lovely.” jeno stands to his feet, observing the flurry of activity as he descended the steps. he had already attended the private royal funeral, and a public procession was being prepared. jeno had no intentions to attend, but was quite sure he would be forced into it either way. as the new ruling king, he had to put a good face, did he not?

he hadn’t shed a single tear, not for his father, and especially not for his stepmother. what use was there in mourning what was already dead? his tears wouldn’t bring them back. 

jeno was now the de facto leader of a kingdom nearly in shambles. for months, little by little, the pitiful subjects of his dear Solaria had begun organizing some poor ill-fated mutiny against the royal family. mostly popular with street rats of the slum cities, it appeared. talk of freedom, equality, and democracy was washing through towns, giving hope to the hopeless. slowly, quietly, officers from the royal military had been planting spies in the poor villages of Solaria, gathering intelligence and foiling a multitude of terrorist attacks against the royal capital, Varean, and against nobles of the royal court. 

somehow, they had missed the plot against the royal family itself. as soon the king and queen had been found dead, a roundhouse cleanup had been ordered. many royal servants were detained and questioned, some executed. but jeno knew that this uprising was far deep-seated then most at the palace realized. 

and the war beyond the diamondpane walls for Sumner Palace was not the only front on which jeno found himself under fire. as the young heir to the throne, he knew none of his royal advisors were to be trusted. the families of the royal court even less. each person had their own agendas to push, their own desires to fulfill, and what they all had in common was a razor sharp scythe planted deep in the crown prince’s back. 

it was no mere accident that jeno had survived the attack. it was a test: could he play along in his role as a puppet while someone else pulls all the strings? should he fail, they could simply cut those strings, allowing him to join the king and queen.

Sumner had always been a minefield, but even more so now. since he was just a boy, his mother, her majesty, taught jeno and taught him well: as a future king, he had no friends. growing up inside the palace walls was like being raised with snakes. one wrong misstep, one person wrongly trusted, and crown prince would pay with his life. with his stepmother finally gone, jeno didn’t intend on dying anytime soon. 

jeno wouldn’t lie that he felt a swell of happiness when his stepmother’s chambermaid came rushing into his quarters, tears in his eyes. of course he hadn’t known of the assassination plot against the queen, but had he, jeno wouldn’t have stopped it. after all, she was the one who had seduced his father and jeno blamed her for his mother’s untimely death. 

a “natural, though far too soon, death” they had called it, but jeno knew better. his mother had taught him better. 

he had little to no empathy for his father either. the man had grown foriegn to jeno in the years following his mother’s passing. they only spoke in official capacity but nothing more. jeno couldn’t say he regretted the distance.

as jeno strode back towards his chambers, he was flanked with advisors left and right. there were still many details to work out regarding the funerary processions as well a handful of intelligence reports coming into the capital. jeno listened and answered each advisor until they reached his door and their feet came to a standstill.

“this is where we will have to break for a short recess i'm afraid.” jeno bowed as did his advisors. as soon as the doors closed behind, jeno breathed out a sigh of relief. he hadn’t had a moment to himself since the events of this morning. jeno walked out to the terrace overlooking the royal gardens. 

the kingdom was set to undergo a week long period of mourning for the murdered king and queen. but not jeno. like flowers and insects that inhabited his garden, jeno would simply go on, unaffected and indifferent. he had his work cut out for him, if he wanted to secure his royal crown and throne. 

a crown covered in the blood of the king and queen and anyone else in jeno's path to ascension. 

“can you not move any faster?”

“mark i’m trying my best, given our circumstances.” 

“well try harder, at this rate the lieutenant is gonna designate you a recruit forever. 

jaemin pressed on, trying his best to ignore the dirt clinging to skin and clothes. after years working in the factories of his slumtown, one would have thought jaemin would be used to it. 

when jaemin joined Arc Syndicate, a resistance movement against the monarchy of Solaria, he thought it would finally mean freedom from the dire future he was destined for if he stayed put. he would have to continue to work until his body broke and then receive a meager monthly ration from Varean for his years of "service"; a more pleasant way to describe indoctrinated servitude. 

as one of the lower, more improvised members of society, the warehouse factories were jaemin's only option for employment and source of a scarce earning. while the royal family and their court dined draped in gold and silver, jaemin worked covered in dirt and ash. caged in by the wails and screams of metal on metal, working the machinery was like walking the thin line between life and death. many factories had children far too young working in the midst of all this. jaemin himself had been running between the rows of the assembly lines since he was 12. 

the factories of Solaria produced a wide variety of goods, from the glittering silverware to televisions to weaponry. almost nothing was imported into the kingdom; everything was produced within its borders. but once production was finished, all was collected and transported immediately to the capital. nothing was allowed to remain. and anyone who attempted to swipe anything from the long line assembly belts had a finger cut for the first offense, flogging for the second, and execution if they survived for a third offense. no one ever saw a fruit of their labour; they would spend their days making luxurious goods only to go back home to sleep on straw beds, if they were so lucky. 

towns like jaemin’s were kept out of the public eye, situated far away enough so that the rest of the kingdom could comfortably ignore their existence. 

ignore the inequality and poverty that was a direct result of decades of the Varean’s negligence. given little to no access to education, it was not even feasible for commoners like jaemin to relocate. the capital didn’t allow them entrance, leaving them neatly imprisoned in their shacks. the food and water available was fever inducing at best, lethal at worst. outside the capital, the life expectancy was not much higher than 50. 

jaemin also had siblings to support, his father a victim of a gruesome factory accident when he was still a child and their mother having succumbed to a mysterious illness some years ago. an illness that most likely could have been cured by the healers who resided in the royal capital. but jaemin’s family never could afford such treatment, nor were they even allowed to obtain such. another restriction placed on the lower subjects of the kingdom.

jaemin harboured a deep seated hatred for the royal elites who lived in luxury in Varean off the hard labour of people like jaemin. every scar, burn, and broken bone a lifelong reminder that for everyone person working in the factories or the fields, some child of a noble was living in complete ecstasy in the capital. 

but, this was how things were. 

there had been increasingly more and more riots in the past year, with demands for change and reform ringing through the streets. but protests almost always quickly ended in bloodshed, with royal forces authorized to use lethal force. anything to squash the smallest signs of rebellion. jaemin wasn’t very optimistic about his condition, but he accepted them because he didn’t think there was anything he could do to change them. 

that was until the king took away his family. jeno's father, to be exact, had ordered a surprise raid on the subjects of Asendur. 

it was a small town, with no more than 1000 inhabitants. so it didn't take long for them to make their way to each home. when jaemin came back home, he found his two siblings flat on the floor in a neat line. each had a bullet straight in the middle of their foreheads. 

their executioners hadn't even had the decency to shut their eyes closed. 

jaemin joined ArcSyn shortly after. not for himself, but to avenge his brother and sister. he would make the royal family pay for their sins. for the lives they had ruined, for the families they had stolen.

the teenage boy had nothing to lose besides his own life, and that didn't hold much meaning to him anymore. but the syndicate gave jaemin purpose. it gave him hope. hope for what? not a kingdom where its subjects would be treated fairly but just simply hope for revenge on the monarchy. 

jaemin didn't know how many would have to die before he was satisfied. it's not like this would all be over once the king, queen, and the crown prince was dead. there would always be more. another noble who would simply take their place. 

ArcSyn provided jaemin with a home and a new family. and that came in the form of mark lee. mark was only a year older than him but had been a syndicate member for longer. jaemin would soon come to learn that the organization was not born out of the riots that started to consume the kingdom in the past year. rather, the rebellion had seeds that were planted long before. mark had been an assassin for them a few years now, and it afforded him a higher rank than most other field officers. 

jaemin trailed mark wherever he went and mark likewise took a liking to the younger boy. mark, despite their circumstances and responsibilities, was genuine and easy going. well natured, he helped jaemin easily adapt to life in the force. 

"mark, be sure to take him with you again when you make your rounds."

"yes sir."

"... and na, please try your best to not shoot your fellow recruits again. 

"yessir!" jaemin straightened his back, raising his arm in a salute to the general of their contingent. he only offered a shallow nod before stalking off. 

"your aim might be better if you focused while during my demonstrations."

"my aim might be better if you weren't distracting me?"

mark tilted his head, eyebrows knitting together in confusion. jaemin laughed it off, walking off towards the stairs that led the way out of the barracks, leaving mark no choice but to follow. as the pair ascended the flights to ground level, jaemin steadied himself against the railings. breathe in, breathe out. 

ArcSyn was scattered throughout Solaria. mainly holed up in abandoned outposts and military bases on the outskirts of the kingdom, each regiment answered to Command. exactly where that was located was kept secret from most officers. even mark didn't really have a clue where the royal rebellion could be headquartered. 

mark and jaemin's regiment, in particular, was centered around a small abandoned airstrip that was once one of the kingdom’s air fields. worn and weathered down when ArcSyn first found it, they soon stripped it down and built their own fort in its space. 

far from any towns, the air base was surrounded by a mountain range that stretched as far as the naked eye could see. a cracked asphalt runway ran through the center of the rebel base, widespread and almost always bustling with activity. recruits and soldiers mingled in tents and trained in spare buildings that had been gutted. further down the runway, there was a collection of barracks, mostly serving as the sleeping quarters for ArcSyn members.

mark was to run laps through the nearby fields and help jaemin practice his shots. they hadn’t gotten too far from the base before erratic shouting suddenly grabbed their attention.

“what was that?”

“probably another stupid prank, pay them no mind.”

“no, mark… something’s happening….”

mark sighed, holding his tongue and instead letting his eyes follow in the direction jaemin’s outstretched arm was pointed at. there did appear to be some sort of commotion near the bunkers jaemin and mark had just exited from. the two boys only offered one another a side glance before they started jogging to see just what the hell was going on. 

as they neared the edges of the base, the shouting became clearer. it wasn’t shouting at all, rather it was unhinged cheering. jaemin pushed past the growing crowd, still unaware of what the special occasion was. 

as he pushed closer to the front, it was then he heard it out their own litentuant’s mouth:

dead. they’re dead. the king and queen of Solaria are dead.

“do we have any intelligence on who ordered the attack?”

“all signs point towards ArcSyn, sire.”

jeno’s hands curled into fists at his side, his nails digging into his palm. he uncurled his fingers before he could draw blood. he always had to keep his temper in check; it would be oh so unsightly and unbecoming of a jewel of the royal crown to display such lowly behaviour. 

the assassins had yet to be found. 

“and... we are finishing our sweeps of all the staff currently at Sumner, sire.”

“no was allowed in or out of the premises in the aftermath of the attack, is my understanding.”

“that would be correct, your highness.”

the commanding officers kept some distance from the prince, his utter disdain radiating off of him.

“assign intelligence officers to confirm exactly where they struck from. do not leave any stone unturned, lest we have another … breach.” the last word left the prince’s tongue with condescending scorn. 

“at once, your highness!” a unison shout filled the room. everyone returned to their work as the prince eventually exited the room, making his way back to his chambers. jeno nodded to the guards posted all along the halls every few feet, fully aware of the ones following him from the back as well. 

jeno did his best to maintain an image of someone distraught but strong; someone who was able to keep his emotions in check. it was important for someone others in the lower royal courts has come to call a sociopath. 

but maybe that was true, because jeno didn’t operate on emotion. he had long ago learned how to shelve away his feelings, instead functioning entirely on logic. and numbers and facts. things that he could always confirm and rely on to be constant. if there was anything jeno hated, it was uncertainty. and surprises. 

the walls of Sumner were already crawling with two faced intentions and honey sweet words. Sumner was indeed the pride of Solaria; it had everything. everything but the truth. nothing stated in Sumner could be trusted. it was like living in an elaborate play where all players were actors on a stage. but unlike plays, everything that occurred at Sumner had real life repercussions. 

yet, jeno understood the value of a properly executed emotion based appeal. even as a young boy, he knew how to manipulate those around him with his words. how to come off as a person not devoid of emotions, but a person of genuine care. and jeno was good as it. every interaction weighed and calculated and balanced; nothing the prince ever did wasn’t something that he hadn’t carefully thought over.

jeno’s strategic personality was what allowed him to excel in not only military tactics but in the warish politics of royal life as well. he knew exactly who was his allies and even better who his enemies were. it made jeno appear standoffish to those around him, his words sometimes coming off more curt and rude than he intended. it didn’t afford him many friends either. 

when jeno was younger, it did hurt. but he grew past such childish emotions, learning to value true alliances over mere friendships. it took one childhood friend telling his secret to the children of other nobles for jeno to lose his trust in others almost entirely. his biological mother taught him well that day when he came to her in a fit of tears: a king has no friends. only those willing to win his favour and those waiting to kill him. 

and as jeno came to learn, many people were both. members of the royal court with the razor sharp smiles and bubblegum sweet words but empty vacant eyes. all waiting for the young prince to make one mistake and make sure it was his last. 

even more so now, with the rest of the kingdom carefully watching on as coronation day approached. only a month off from now. a month away if jeno lived to see the day. entertaining the royal court had always been like walking with a target on the back of one’s head. jeno was only 19; easily underestimated but perhaps even easier to replace. 

royal coronations are always grand celebrations in which every subject participates in. at least, they were. jeno had been raised his whole life preparing for this very day; the day he would ascend the throne. if only if he had known it would come so soon, under such circumstances… at such cost. 

jeno froze. he was in the royal garden, a nighttime stroll just before he would succumb slumber. his mother… she should’ve been here. her smile, the smell of her hair, the warmth of her body, the sound of her voice… the prince felt tears prickle at the corner of his eye, each one cutting his heart like shards of glass. his eyes darted down to the flowers at his right: hydrangeas, his mother’s favorite. this bush, she had planted herself when jeno was just a young, naive boy. 

jeno covered his mouth with his hand, screwing his eyes shut as the image of his mother filled his head. a young, sweet queen. a loyal, dutiful wife. a soft, caring mother. not only to jeno, but to all the people of Solaria. she was beloved by everyone around her. but, more than anyone, she had always known the dangers of royal life. she balanced raising the young prince with love but not blind affection. not a day went by where his mother did not find a teaching moment. and everything his mother had ever taught him; they all came to pass. 

most importantly, about trust, and trusting your own. and how easy it could be to sway the heart. jeno saw it all firsthand, with how his father, little by little, cast his mother aside. aside for what? aside for nothing but a concubine who would then later go on to become a consort. the prince was powerless, the king had already been lost. his negligence when the queen mysteriously fell ill only confirmed it. 

jeno’s mother would eventually succumb to her unknown ailments, but not before she gave her prince one more smile. 

it had been just her and jeno in her very last moments, barely able to breathe and her skin tinged with a strange tint of green. he had been crying and she was smiling, almost laughing. 

“jeno, your father will give you an earful if he sees your face covered in tears like that.”

“so? i don’t care!”

jeno had his mother stripped away from just a month after his 9th birthday. now almost on the heels of the 10th anniversary of her passing, he had just lost the only remnant of his family, of his childhood. 

the king changed almost entirely after the passing of his mother. jeno blamed him, and the king had never been able to change his mind, not even up until his very last breath. but there was still a part of jeno that could not detach itself from the king. the king who married that fucking concubine and turned jeno’s life into a living hell. everyday a painful reminder of what the king had replaced his mother with. 

but jeno bid his time. 10 years. he waited 10 years and finally, that evil women was finally dead. 

jeno wasn’t sure if it was his doing, ArcSyn’s or some awful combination of the two but he wasn’t one to question a convenient turn of events. 

but even with his stepmother dead, her influence still remained in the form of his father’s closest advisor, tyrion. the slain king trusted him with nearly everything in sight, including his son. following the assasination, jeno found himself flanked at all times by the older man. and of course, tyrion was handpicked by the queen. 

having the old advisor roaming through the halls left jeno rather disturbed, often draped in all white like a vision of his mother’s ghost. the prince knew that if he were to let tyrion in even a little bit, let his guard down, and chose to, perhaps, even trust the man who was now supposed to be his closest confidant, jeno wouldn’t remain on the throne for very long. if he got there at all. 

so the prince kept up his facade. he wouldn’t lower his walls for anything. or anyone. 

jaemin sat in silence. mark was on the bunk across from him, carefully wrapping gauze around his wrists. both of them had bags on the floor between them, packed and ready to go.

jaemin should be happy. excited even. but he could not shake the bone-chilling fear that had struck and neatly shut off all his nerves. the boy couldn’t feel anything, frozen. 

“jaemin.”

mark’s voice lacked it’s usual affection it carried when addressing the younger boy. instead, it took on a harsher, colder tone; one that managed to seep through and break jaemin out of his trance.

ArcSyn had managed to not only infiltrate Sumner palace, they had carried out a successful assasination. this was the highest level attack the organization had executed thus far. and it shouldn’t have been possible, not without people on the inside. 

and there was still one very glaring issue. 

“what about the crown prince?” someone shouted from the crowd.

of course an ideal assasination would have taken the prince out as well, but it seemed ArcSyn had other intentions for the lee jeno. and their plans appeared to include na jaemin. 

he was called in along with mark. and tasked with infiltration. jaemin was to follow the routes that ArcSyn operants had already discovered and deemed safe. from there, they were expected to make there way into Sumner, and collect information on the last remaining member of Solaria’s royal family. 

“why didn’t they murder him as well, again?”

“you heard them, it would have been too easy to replace him with a cousin or royal advisor. and the public opinion still isn’t negative enough for Solaria to immediately turn their backs on the monarchy just yet.”

ArcSyn hoped to gather intelligence on the crown prince as directly as possible, and use that information to disgrace his royal image. they needed the populace of Solaria to stand with them and against everything the royal family stood for, which required an inside job. 

jaemin, a master of words (according to mark) was deemed appropriate for such a mission. all he had to do was sweet talk the prince, and learn his deepest, darkest secrets and then expose him. easy, right?

wrong. and jaemin was terrified out of his mind. 

“you’re awfully calm about this.” jaemin didn’t like how mark was extremely nonchalant, given the two would be carrying out was almost likely to be a suicide mission if they slipped up even once. 

“well, I have to be, for the both of us.”

us. 

jaemin ignored the butterflies in his stomach, clearing his throat as his legs dangled off the bunk still. 

“are you done packing?”

“there wasn’t much in the first place, mark.”

jaemin had already lost so much; he didn’t like the idea of keeping too many personal items. they would only be extra strings, strings that could easily be cut and leave jaemin plummeting all over again. attachment was a very bad thing and that was something jaemin had learned very clearly. 

mark only looked up at jaemin for a second, on one knee lacing up his combat boots. he’d just finished reinforcing the soles underneath. he gave the other boy a slight nod, not speaking any further. it’s like there was much mark could do or say right now to ease jaemin’s jittery nerves. 

eventually both boys bid their shared bunker of the last 6 months goodbye. mark snuck a peak back, his eyes only drifting and following jaemin as the boy walked straight out, looking ahead the whole time. mark jogged after jaemin, catching up to the boy fairly easily. jaemin wasn’t trying to run ahead of mark, he was waiting for him. 

“the envoy awaits us, right?”

“yeah.”

neither mark or jaemin had been given much details other than a curt briefing. even now, as they exited their base for what seems could be the last time with a duffel bag each, they were not told much. both boys walked towards the waiting air jet on the tarmac. just under an hour ago, the base was filled with screaming and shouts. now, it was eerily almost silent, men bustling around and making idle chit chat. 

jaemin ignored the stares. it seems like word of their assignment had already reached everyone else. he kept his eyes forward, attempting to not let his fear spill through the cracks. if he pretended to have a steely attitude, maybe he would come to believe it.

as mark and jaemin reached the end of the air strip where their transport was, they were pleasantly surprised to find other agents already abroad. jaemin breathed a sigh a relief, some of his waves of worry washing away. of course, there was no way they would’ve been sent on their own. 

mark went ahead, walking towards the front where officers from Command were waiting for him. jaemin had no choice to but to stand near the back, not recognizing any of the others. listening in on what the boys around were saying, jaemin tried his best to keep it together.

“people say the crown prince is like, some kind of sociopath.”

“can’t say im surprised…. just look at his father.”

“the apple doesn’t fall from the tree.”

jaemin could only agree. 

news of the early morning assasination reached their base late in the afternoon. by the time they found out, the crown prince had just started his national address. jaemin had watched with cold eyes and an even colder heart as the prince stared into the camera, eyes piercing as he spoke with conviction. quite the actor, jaemin had thought to himself. 

the prince won over the hearts of many in the kingdom with his mature demeanor and handsome face, and the supporters of the royal family always spoke of how much of a fine king he would make one day. 

“na! get over here.”

jaemin jumped at the sound of his name being called. his eyes darted around until he found mark; smiling and waving him over. jaemin blamed his erratic breathing and beating heart on his nerves. as he approached mark and the other generals, jaemin darted his eyes upward, to the side, and the walls. 

mark was dressed in almost the same thing jaemin was: worn down combat boots, dark cargo pants, and a fitted black cotton shirt. but someone had handed him one of the same jackets the other top commanders were dressed in, and jaemin felt his throat go dry. he shook his head, trying his best to get mark out of his head. this was absolutely not the time for such a distraction. 

  
three days. it had been three days since the attacks on Sumner. 

jeno paced back and forth on the veranda of his room. he’d been told countless times not to even open the windows, for his own safety. 

but the prince had never been one for rules, not since his 9th birthday, anyways. 

the palace was still on complete lockdown, so it’s not like he was in any real danger. not from outsiders; jeno felt more uneasy knowing there were guards posted right outside his door, placed there by tyrion himself. 

in the last three days, the palace staff had all been rounded up and questioned. jeno was aware that a handful were detained for further interrogations while others were deemed suspicious were executed. annoying for the most part, that last bit, because that simply meant Sumner was now short staffed so breakfast, lunch, and dinner always took a bit longer. 

to make matters worse, there was an envoy arriving today. a handful of princes and courtsmen and women from the neighboring principalities. jeno had never been responsible for more than beyond simply receiving guests and making small talk. however, he was now the de facto ruler of his kingdom as well as a bachelor, and so all eyes, ears, and hands would be on him. 

leaning now, into the breeze, remembering sunday….

jeno closed his eyes for a moment, willing everything around him to stop. he wanted just a few minutes alone entirely, only the sound of the wind and birds singing in the distance. 

his solitary peace only lasted so long before a knock at the door broke the silence. jeno didn’t move, letting his head hang, his arms outstretched over the railing. a couple more knocks came again, louder this time. a warning. 

“come in.”

“.. ah, your highness, i see you’re awake. I was about to have someone come to check on you.”

“i’m not a child anymore tyrion, i think i can see to myself.”

jeno still had yet to move, keeping his back to his advisor and his tone steady. 

“i’ll make sure to remember that your highness.” 

jeno didn’t miss the underlying meaning of tyrion’s words. and the advisor knew this, as well. 

“make sure to be at breakfast in 15 minutes. our guests are waiting.”

“oh, and don't forget to wear a shirt again.”

the prince crossed his arms over his exposed chest and his head whipped up at the mention today’s visitors. they weren’t supposed to be until noon? but as jeno turned around, ready to question the royal advisor, the old man was already well out the doors. they shut behind him with a resounding thud, flinging the room into silence once again. 

he dragged himself away from the railing, fingers trailing along the cold metal. jeno walked out again on to the terrace, staring below at the garden for a moment. jeno’s eyes fluttered shut, as he let the last bits of the early morning sun soak into his exposed skin. 

he felt himself transported back to a time where he was younger. he had no worries, and knew nothing outside of the laundry list that was his royal etiquette lessons. he was happy, naive, and innocent. he didn’t need to hide himself, not yet anyways. and out on the veranda like this right now, he suddenly felt vulnerable, exposed, but free. he didn’t have anyone to impress or to read, he was himself on his own terms. the heavy burden of the crown vanished as jeno took in a deep breath, a faint, rare, smile filling his lips as pink dusted his cheeks. 

he’d do anything to make this moment last an eternity. he didn’t need anything or anyone else.

but soon the moment was over lee jeno was gone, replaced by crown prince jeno of Solaria. as he adjusted the collar of his shirt, running a hand down the white cotton front of his blouse, jeno hardened his heart again. he had quite the show to put on at breakfast in front of an audience of snakes and scorpions. 

jeno descended the main staircase, flanked at both sides by royal guards. he squared his shoulders, his posture perfect (after years of scolding and punishments). when jeno carried himself like this into a room, most would never guess he was a boy of only 19 years of age. his mature and sharp features made him look older already, and his sophisticated aura sealing the deal. he was often intimidating to many in the royal circles; the icy, mysterious prince jeno.   
  
jeno paused in front of the tall doors that opened into dining hall. he sucked in his breath, counting down from 10 in his head. an old habit he’d learned from his late mother. 

“sire?”

jeno steeled his nerves, eyes opening to empty expression. he pushed his cloudy emotions underneath the surface, clearing his head. he nodded his head, and the guards moved in front of him and pushed the doors open. 

the dining hall was set with an extravagant assortment of dishes.

for jeno, this was normal. for jaemin, at the far end of the table, it was anything but.

jaemin didn’t even notice when the crown prince entered the room, almost missing mark’s cue from across the table to stand from his seat. 

the once rambunctious room quickly fell into silence as all eyes were on the prince. every spine straightened at the sight of the tall, raven haired prince.

jeno eyed everyone in the room, scanning faces. not one stood out. his eyes gleamed over jaemin, who held his breath, a fist curling at his side. he counted to ten in his head, until he was no longer seeing red and a neutral expression returned to his face. 

jaemin was supposed to befriend the crown prince. he couldn’t do that if he killed him before noon. 

jeno gave a slight bow, just enough so he wouldn’t appear rude, before taking his seat at the end of the table. the rest followed, the room noisy with the sounds of dresses rusting and chair legs scraping at the white tiled floor. once everyone was seated, jeno began to speak.   
jaemin kept a close eye on him, as so did mark. 

“i would like to take a moment to thank everyone present here today.”

jeno emphasized the word, wanting to make all of them feel as if they were important to him. jaemin noted this; jeno knew how to make someone feel important.

“let’s not play dumb; the future of my kingdom is now uncertain following the tragic assasination the king and queen.”

jeno made sure to stumble a little over his words. enough to invoke emotion, not too much and put himself at risk of seeming too emotional. jaemin didn’t find his words entirely too sincere, almost too perfect.

“with my coronation in under just a month, I hope to work to win the favour and confidence of not only those of you in front of me today, but of my people as well. i am young… inexperienced… and but a boy to many. but i will show Solaria i have what it takes to be their king. and i hope that you all,” jeno gestured to everyone seated at the table with a sweep of his arm, “will help me.”

jaemin kept a blank expression.

“i have much to learn still and i am aware of my numerous flaws. i will work harder.” jeno stood from his chair, offering a deeper bow filled with humility.

jaemin forced down a scoff and forced on a thin, tight lipped smile. the crown prince was not shakespearean actor he thought he was. 

but jaemin had seen his address from day of the assasination; the prince knew how to string together words into a sentence that could make almost someone fall in love with him. 

getting into him might be harder than jaemin had anticipated. for as calculated as the crown prince was, jaemin would have to be twice as much. but jaemin was good at that: being two or even three steps ahead. 

jeno held his head down, counting to 3 before straightening. finally. he let his eyes run up and down the tables, gauging expressions and reactions. he almost missed him… but jeno stopped for a moment to stare at the boy seated at the end of the table. he wore a sympathetic expression on his face like everyone else, but the look in his eyes…..

jeno looked away quickly.

“now, please help yourself.’ jeno smiled dazzlingly. jaemin thought he heard a girl swoon.   
jeno glanced back at the boy. he seemed to be very invested in the food in front of him. jeno had never seen him before, but that wasn’t unusual. what was the way he had stared at jeno. like he could almost see through his words and see him. 

jeno would have to keep an eye on him. 

“jaemin, slow down!” mark whispered harshly from across the table.

“at least chew before you swallow.”

jaemin was on his second plate already, ready to fill his third. he was getting looks, but he didn’t care. it’s not like he was planning on sticking around here for long. 

“jaemin... there’s still lunch later.”

jaemin stopped midbite to look up and stare at mark, who only looked back at him with an expression that read ‘are you fucking serious right now??”. it was a look jaemin had been accustomed to being on the receiving end of after all these by mark’s side.

jaemin put down his fork, dabbing at his mouth with a napkin. 

“well... you could have said that earlier.”

mark only rolled his eyes.

“sir, are you finally done with your dish?” there was a condescending tone to the butler’s voice.

“yes, thank you very much.” jaemin tried his best to keep his voice from sounding indignant.

without a plate of food in front to distract him, jaemin turned his gaze back to the prince. he was slowly dining still while smiling and chatting with those seated closest to him. his smile filled his face, but never quite reached his eyes entirely, no matter how hard he tried to make it seem like it did. 

the whole time, it seemed like every woman and girl in the room were entirely enchanted by the prince. he’d even heard some girls back at the base talk about him often, completely bewitched by his looks. even though he was one of their targets. 

jeno wasn’t hideous, jaemin supposed. he might’ve even thought him handsome in another life, where he didn’t have his siblings’ blood on his hands. jaemin had to remain focused on his objective. jaemin was to get on friendly terms with lee jeno, and get as close as possible to the prince. from there, he was to extract information from the prince, the more sensitive the better, and relay back to mark who would then relay it back to Command. 

ArcSyn needed damaging information on the prince which it could then broadcast to the rest of Solaria and bring down his public image. once he fully lost the kingdom’s trust, no one would riot when ArcSyn would assassinate him. and they would be against another monarchy, or so Command hoped. 

jaemin was always better with words than with a gun anyways. and this was the best way he could get his revenge on the royal family, on the capital, and on those who had taken away his family. 

prince jeno would pay with his life, jaemin would make sure of it. 

as the breakfast affair drew to a close, jaemin, mark, and the rest of the guests were led out to one of the royal gardens. jaemin tried his best not to look too amazed, but he felt his jaw go slack.

always a bit of an architecture nerd, jaemin was wholly obsessed with construction and design. had jaemin been allowed more than a year 9 education, perhaps he could have attended an academy for higher education. he’d always wanted to until he quickly learned that people like him were afforded that.

the boy felt the wind escape from his lungs, bewitched by the beauty of the gardenscape in front of him. he must have looked exactly like those girls did during breakfast. but the flowers blooming at Sumner were by far much more gorgeous than any royal prince.

for a moment, jaemin forgot who or where he was, drowning in the calculated, man made beauty before him. 

jaemin eyed every single rose, daffodils, etc, committing each to memory. he had never seen so much foliage in bloom like this. for him, this might have been the closest thing to heaven on earth.

jeno had finished chatting with his advisors as the dining room was cleared. no word on ArcSyn’s current objective and Sumner remained on lockdown, secure.

he dismissed the royal officers, ready to head off on other business when he decided to spare a second’s glance out the glasspane windows of the ballroom. 

he hated every single person. every single smile. every single lovelorn gaze. and every single ounce of pity he was given. 

these people were no different from the multitude members of his own royal court he had dealt with. all trying their best to win his favour in hopes that, just maybe, jeno would appoint them the minister of something at worst, that they would replace him at best. 

none of them had his interests in mind, they never did. it was only ever their own, and they saw jeno as a pawn to advance their own greedy desires, hopes, dreams, and aspirations. 

jeno smiled to himself. he would love to see them try, just like everyone else had in the past.

he drew his eyes away from the buzzing garden, running a hand through his hair as he stood still, his head tilted up towards the high ceiling and eyes screwed shut. jeno let out a cold breath, a sudden chill running down his spine. he looked out once more, his eyes catching the same boy from before.

was he…. carresing his flowers?

jeno cocked his head to the side, confused. no one paid that much attention to his gardens, not even the gardeners. even from this distance, jeno could tell the boy was deeply concentrated on the flowers. another boy with dark hair stood to his right, arms crossed and clear exasperation written all over his body. 

the boy still kneeling knees deep in the dirt was some prince, if insignia on his garments were anything to go by. jeno gave the boy one more curious look before he strolled away from the window, shaking his head.

still he couldn’t shake the mysterious prince from his mind. 

just who were you?

  
the crown prince didn’t show up at lunch. nor at dinner. jaemin found himself forced to make conversation with the other royals and nobles present at both functions. 

he made quite a handful of slip ups, but was quick to catch himself each time. having mark with him also helped him calm his nerves.

now back in the privacy of the bedroom he had been given for the duration of his stay at Sumner, jaemin finally took his first breath that whole night. 

lunch was informal and jaemin and mark got by with shallow small talk. dinner was like being trapped in a dungeon with a moat filled with alligators surrounding them. situated at the same large dining table they had been seated at in the morning for breakfast upon their arrival but with no crown prince to pay respects to, everyone was forced to find entertainment in something else. 

for the girls sitting at the end of the table, that meant jaemin. the boy had already attracted plenty of attention in the morning for his eating antics, but now he felt eyes fall on him, some girls even switching seats with their mothers just to get a bit closer to him.

“always a chick magnet, even at the palace it seems.”

“... ew? mark, i know you didn’t just say that. apologize.” 

jaemin didn't get much time to scold mark further, the rest of dinner being him trying to dodge advances from teenage girls and their grown mothers when he wanted nothing more than to finish his dinner. 

jaemin had changed into the pajamas the palace had given him, the soft silk feeling foreign against his skin. even the king sized bed cushioning his body from underneath felt threatening. a constant reminder that he didn't belong here.

jaemin jumped at the sudden knock at the door, his heartbeat only slowing when mark’s head peeked in through the door. mark smiled as he walked in, letting the door close behind him as he strode over to jaemin’s bed, sitting down next to jaemin who was on his back again. 

jaemin felt a smile draw itself across his lips, a familiar feeling of warmth filling him from head to toe that seemed to follow jaemin any and everywhere mark went. mark had been the one to always calm all his nerves, help him remember to breath, and get him through one too many panic attacks. jaemin wondered if he would be even alive right now had not been for mark. 

after losing his siblings, it wasn’t like jaemin had much left to live for. it was mark that convinced him to keep going on, so that their deaths wouldn’t be in vain. but slowly, whether jaemin realized it or not, mark was starting to become the one he was waking up every morning to see. jaemin didn’t know why mark had taken such a liking to him, but he was so grateful for it. 

before all this, jaemin couldn’t think of another person he had been so close to. growing up in the slums of Solaria didn’t afford him many friends, let alone close ones. 

jaemin also never realized how touchy of a person he truly was until mark. yes, he doted extremely on his younger siblings, but mark was a whole year older than him. still, it never stopped jaemin from cuddling the other boy, playing with hair and hands, and even placing the occasional kiss on his cheek or neck. 

mark, truly the epitome of a teenage boy, always pushed jaemin away. but just enough so jaemin could still kiss him. the boy, in one word, adored jaemin. everything about jaemin was just so entirely affectionate and adorable and sickeningly cute. but, that didn’t mean jaemin was a child either. he was clever, quick, and intelligent. and always one step ahead of mark. 

after the day’s events, both boys found an anchor in each other. they had never been this far from home, and neither of them ever dreamed that they would be sleeping in Varean, let alone the royal palace. mark quietly reached for jaemin’s hand, the younger boy immediately interlacing their fingers. 

they remained like that for some time, breathing in the silence and letting each other’s touch comfort them. for the next month, moments like this could be rare. if, they weren’t found before the coration. 

after some time, jaemin pulled mark’s hand onto his chest, drawing the older boy’s attention from the open window to himself. jaemin mouthed the words: _are we safe?_

mark offered a small, soft smile: _yes._

jaemin smiled back as he pulled himself up on the bed, his hand still in mark’s. 

“he’s an asshole.”

mark let out a whistle. “a colossal asshole.”

“and all the girls were all over him? when i exist?”

“he also acts like he’s 30. i can’t believe he a few months younger than me.”

“also, did you see the look on his face when that girl cornered him after breakfast?”

the boys stared at each other for a moment, trying their best to stifle their laughter. it ended up with mark topping over jaemin, both of them nearly crying from how hard they were laughing.

“maybe, the prince isn’t as perfect as everyone thinks him to be.”

“oh he definitely isn’t. probably some broken bastard with a childhood sob story.”

jaemin snickered at mark’s comment, entirely amused. traumatic childhood? maybe jaemin and the prince could swap stories of their tragic pasts over tea and crumpets some day. 

“do you know how you’re gonna make him fall in love with you?”

“how i’m going to what?” jaemin stared at mark, dumbstruck.

“jaemin that’s the one thing you’re good at. how else were you planning to get close to him?”

jaemin didn’t know what to say. he hadn’t thought that far out. he was hoping maybe mark might have figured out something by now. 

the prince… wasn’t all that easy to read. he was intimidating, and jaemin had barely even spent any time with him.

“i think i should try approaching him one on one. he might be more open talking to just one person than a whole room.”

“that makes sense, i guess.”

jaemin quirked an eyebrow. mark never was good as masking his emotions. 

“don’t get jealous.”

mark only shoved jaemin’s shoulder, pulling himself up and swinging his legs over the edge of the bed.

“the prince isn’t someone i have to be jealous of. i know you better than most, you wouldn’t fall for jeno if he were the last person on the planet.”

no, jaemin wouldn’t. 

mark left the room shortly after, following the unspoken curfew set in place for the guests staying at Sumner. the last thing they needed was getting kicked out their first night because the palace guards found mark in jaemin’s bed. 

jaemin drifted in and out of sleep, unable to get comfortable enough to fall into a deep slumber. under normal circumstances, he could sleep almost anywhere. but this was not normal; a boy from the outskirts of the kingdom sleeping in the royal palace not very from the future king of Solaria. 

even though mark had peppered his face in kisses before leaving, not something he did very often unless jaemin extremely anxious, jaemin still found himself drowning in paranoia. the sheets suddenly became too heavy, the silk choking him as jaemin sank further into the bed. his eyes tried to find a spot to focus on, so he could somehow ground himself but now the ceiling was starting to distort and spin, the walls moving in-

jaemin ripped the covers off himself, running for the glass doors of the balcony. his hands desperately fumbled with handles a bit before finally he managed to unlock the door. the cool night air hit him all at once, as his lungs gasped for fresh air like he had just come up from the water. his white knuckled grip on the metal railing only tightened as jaemin tried his best to retain his last bit of sanity. gradually, the spinning came to a stop.

_in. out. in. out. in. out. in. out. in. out. in. out. in……….._

jaemin let his head hang over the railing, the cool metal pressed into his cheek. he focused only on that. his breathing slowly evened out after a few minutes. jaemin looked back into his room, at the bed where mark had been lying with him just one hour ago. he stared at the clock on the wall, 12:03 am. way too late to go and try and sneak under mark’s blankets.

jaemin sighed to himself, opting to stay out and let the chilly night air calm his nerves instead. he did the same thing often when mark was away. it was never the same, but it always worked in the end. he stared out at the carefully designed garden below; it wasn’t as big as the one from the morning, but still just as gorgeous. jaemin traced the flowers, bushes, and pots from his third floor balcony, suddenly very awake and focused. nothing excited jaemin more than beautiful floral design. 

he’d always been in love with beauty in all its various forms. jaemin was beauty in every form of the word itself, so it only made sense. 

he’d have to go down and walk through this garden at some point before the month was up.

jaemin peered back into the darkness of his room. the palace was silent at this hour. it made it’s already large looming presence even more terrifying. mark assured him they were not being surveillanced just yet, but jaemin simply couldn’t shake the feeling.

he eventually crawled back into bed, pulling the sheets over himself in hopes they could somehow protect him from some unknown danger. 

  
a few more days passed like that. slowly, the palace fell back into a rhythm, focus shifting from entertaining the royal court of guests to preparations for the crown prince’s coronation. that was jeno’s excuse for skipping nearly every private palace function. the last thing he needed to be doing was waste his time entertaining nobles. 

still, he couldn’t completely avoid all of them. at least not prince jaemin. 

the young prince somehow found jeno, attempting to chat him up. at first it was just simple questions like “where’s the restroom?” and “when’s lunch?” to more.. daring comments? about his hair, his hands, and his lips. if jeno didn’t know any better, he might have thought the prince was attempting to flirt with him. unlike the many princesses and ladies-in-waiting before him, jeno paid it no mind. 

but like every girl before him, jaemin was persistent. he made sure to stay close by jeno’s side. and to always catch his eye. still, jeno did his best to ignore him. which worked for the most part, until he was alone in his room. prince jaemin appeared to be the most interesting person in the castle the last few days since his arrival. jeno smiled to himself as he remembered how jaemin had nearly snatched a plate of waffles from another princess at breakfast this morning. 

of course, he thought it went unnoticed, but jeno saw everything. nothing went missed under his trained gaze. jeno also noticed the boy that seemed to trail prince jaemin everywhere he went. of similar stature and age, it was to jeno’s best understanding that he was another fellow prince from another neighbouring kingdom like jaemin’s. he was less remarkable, however. 

but... it seemed he was close to the prince. not that would bother him in the slightest. why would it?

while jeno tiptoed around his curiosity, jaemin was plotting behind locked doors. mark reminded him again that he was only meant to get close to the crown prince; close enough to gain his trust and extract information from him. he was not to catch feelings, even if the crown prince began to feel any affection towards him. jaemin wasn’t too sure why he felt the need to mention it. 

jaemin had always been a natural flirt, his charming, manipulating nature getting him further than most would have thought. and it was exactly how he planned on getting inside jeno’s head. but the crown prince wasn’t very receptive to advances, it seemed. jaemin had already lost track of many girls jeno had brushed past in the last five days. the prince did not seem all that interested in any sort of romantic escapades. 

well, jaemin would change that. without catching feelings. of course. 

but…. it seemed that the rumors about the alluring, attractive lee jeno were nothing but true. jaemin was biased but was not blind. jeno was extremely good looking. almost too good looking. like a prince out of a children’s fairytale. perfect face, body, silhouette, and even posture. 

but he was a prince, so of course he was all those things. he wouldn’t be where he was, or who he was, if he weren’t. a true waste of his face. sad, because in another life, maybe jaemin would have given lee jeno a second or even third glance.

jeno was slightly wary of mysterious flower boy who was almost too charming to be safe. but at the same time, jeno didn’t entirely feel in danger when talking to him. that confused him, and jeno didn’t like being confused. 

he couldn’t find much information on the prince in Solaria’s databases either, as he came from a valley kingdom far north. at least, that’s how jaemin had introduced himself. but again, jeno didn’t have time to be worrying over one boy with a possible assasination attempt on him hanging in the air. 

he knew that tyrion would have his head on a platter if he could. and if he didn’t get him first, ArcSyn would definitely try to. 

in between coordinating raids and strikes on ArcSyn and preparing for his coronation, jeno found himself stretched thin. and with increased stress, jeno ended up spending more and more hours in his mother’s flower garden. he always did when he needed to ground himself. 

it was the one place he could detach himself from everything bothering him and bask in his mother’s presence. this was last connection he had to her left. 

jeno sat on one of the marble white benches in the garden right now, the moon glowing overhead in the night sky. the stars twinkled brilliantly, brighter than the fireflies. jeno let his eyes close shut, a smile gracing his lips as he felt his shoulders lighten.

that peace didn’t last long, the sudden crunch of grass under heavy feet breaking jeno out of his daze. 

“i thought i made myself clear when i told you to stay back by the entrance.” jeno didn’t want a guard's piercing gaze on him in his only safe space.

to jeno’s shock, it wasn’t a royal guard who stumbled out into view, but that boy.

“prince jaemin?”

jaemin was covered in twigs and dirt, all of it ruining his silk pajamas. he cursed at himself for it; he was just starting to like them. 

“your highness! sorry... looks like i got a bit lost.”

“this is my private garden.” jeno’s voice was flat. it was curt but said everything.

jaemin understood that he wasn’t supposed to be here. just about to apologize and turn back around towards the palace doors, he stopped. this was his chance. to get close to the prince and under the glow of the midsummer moonlight. it had already been almost a week since their arrival and jaemin had yet to talk to the prince for more than a few minutes at a time. mark would kill him if he found jaemin passed up this chance. 

“um your highness-”

“was what i said not clear?” jaemin grimaced at the sharp tone.

jeno couldn’t understand why he was still being spoken to. but partially, though he wasn’t aware of it, he wanted jaemin to stay. to talk to him a bit more. because he was just curious.

“your highness, with all due respect, i am one of the envoys here to assist you. i can’t really do that if i don’t speak to you.”

silence in response. jaemin took that as an answer to stay. but he didn’t know what to say next. jeno didn’t either, a painful silence falling in between the two. 

jaemin’s eyes darted around, looking anywhere but the prince. there was a million things he could tell jeno right now, but none of them would end well. jeno was starting to get visibly uncomfortable, and decided to break the ice first.

“do you like flowers?”

“do i what?” jaemin stared at him, surprised at suddenly being spoken to and with such a casual tone.

“flowers.”

“oh. um, yeah. you probably think it’s a girl’s thing-”

jeno chuckled softly, shutting jaemin up. 

“i don’t. i do too.” 

jaemin felt his eyes widen again for the twice time in the last two minutes. never ever would he imagined that cold hearted crown prince of Solaria would be into fucking _flowers_ of all things.

jeno continued on when jaemin failed to speak. he just briefly mentioned that he always grew up surrounded by flowers in the palace and had come to learn the names of his favorite ones, conveniently leaving out any mention of his mother. jaemin, still brought her up.

naturally, jeno was taken aback, leaving jaemin to quickly backtrack on his words. 

“i only asked because everyone knows you were close to her! before ….” now jaemin just felt like an asshole. jeno’s face as jaemin trailed off, the rest of his sentence as clear as the night sky. fuck, why did jaemin never think before he spoke?

jeno sighed. he stood up the bench he had been sitting on, walking over to the bush of hydrangeas at the center of the garden. he beckoned over jaemin who had still yet to move from the spot where he had been standing this entire time. slowly, jaemin made his way over towards the crown prince. he gulped at the sight of a small smile that had crept up on the prince’s face. out in the courtyard, the moonlight perfectly cut along the prince’s sharp features.

“these were my mother’s favorite.”

“hydrangeas.” jaemin breathed. jeno simply hummed in response. 

“what happened to your clothes.”

jaemin turned scarlet red, wiping at his shirt furiously. why did he suddenly feel self conscious?

“i was, umm…. looking at your flowers?”

“you seem really quite interested in them.”

“i could say the same about you, your highness.” jaemin looked at the crown prince as he looked back at jaemin at the same time. they inches apart now, both bent over the flower bush, hands on their knees. 

jaemin’s voice was confident. jeno smiled back softly. and jaemin felt that confidence crumble.

his next line was supposed to be: _since you like flowers so much, what about a flower boy like me?_

but the words were caught in his throat. for the first time in his life, na jaemin found himself at a complete loss for words. and because of a boy. a very handsome boy. 

jeno waved a hand in front of jaemin’s face when the younger boy failed to blink after a few moments. jaemin blinked back into consciousness, not even realizing he had been staring at the prince this whole time. he quickly straightened his back, clearing his throat and hoping to clear his spinning head. 

he had to get his room.

“you know your highness it’s getting late-”

“i’ll see you at breakfast tomorrow, prince jaemin.”

jaemin didn’t notice the way his heart skipped a beat. he offered a final grin before running off towards the palace doors. once back in the safety of his own quarters, did he realize. his racing heart, sweaty palms, and wildly blushing skin. what in the world?

jaemin slowly stripped himself of the dirtied pajamas, changing quickly into a new pair. he pulled the covers off his bed, ready to just let his body hit the sheets and fall asleep when he noticed the cold draft. 

he went around the bed towards the glass sliding doors that opened up onto the veranda. he walked out to the railing again, leaning into the chilly night breeze once more. jaemin had been standing in this very spot just an hour ago when suddenly he felt the urge to go out to the garden. he’d looked at the time; it was only 15 past 10pm. he had time.

thankfully the guards didn’t question him too much when he said he felt lightheaded and needed some air, letting the pretty boy slip out one of the back doors into the royal gardens. jaemin felt giddy as the sight and smell of flowers filled him, almost forgetting he was supposed to be masquerading as a royal prince. 

but as he let his fingers run over petals and leaves, his eyes glazing over as he walked through the carefully trimmed hedges, jaemin became himself again. a boy of some unimportant slumtown of Solaria working a job with too little pay and too much work who loved flowers. jaemin may have been a florist in capital in another life. 

he lost track of time in the gardens, eventually, accidentally stumbling on jeno. 

jaemin felt his breath hitch slightly at the thought of the prince. his eyes darted to the far edge of the garden, as far as the view from his room would let him. just a few yards over was where jaemin had found jeno. 

jaemin quickly walked back into his room, shutting the glass doors behind him. he jumped into covers, pulling the sheets over himself and ignoring his burning red cheeks.

na jaemin did not like lee jeno. he absolutely did not. lee jeno was his enemy. and he would make sure jeno didn’t live to see a day past his coronation. but still, jaemin’s heart pounded in his chest.

jeno walked into the dining hall, ready for breakfast. there was noticeably less people present than there had been that first day, a week ago many of the court ladies and nobles had found other accommodations near Sumner, no longer interested in playing fiddle to a young prince who didn’t care to pay them any attention. jeno was entirely fine by that. 

of course, a handful more patient members of the royal court remained, eager to gain the future king’s favour no matter how long it took. and then there was still prince jaemin. 

jaemin was seated a few seats away from jeno, and only offered a thin lipped smile when jeno sat down. the crown prince narrowed his eyes; odd, jaemin was often quite bubbly at breakfast. so why the sudden change in attitude? but his attention quickly shifted to his advisors seated on his left, distant uncles of faint royal blood on his right. 

they were from his step mother’s family, of course, vying to impress the young crown prince. jeno entertained them with nothing more than empty eyes and a hollow smile. nothing could be more important than manners when being a host. 

mark watched jaemin’s face carefully, unable to watch the prince today. he kicked his foot under the table. 

_is everything okay?_

jaemin quickly perked up, offering mark that sickly sweet bubblegum grin. mark felt his fingers grip his fork a bit tighter. mark knew there was something jaemin wasn’t telling him. but why? why would he hide anything from him in a place like this, where mark was the only one he could trust?

breakfast was a quick affair, over as soon as it started. the crown prince was the first to excuse himself from the table. as he stood, jeno spared a second’s glance at jaemin, half expecting the prince to be making his way over to him. instead he saw that same raven haired boy, mark, pulling jaemin up and out of his seat. 

something, indeed, was off about jaemin this morning, it seemed. 

jeno drew his eyes away. what did he care?

  
jaemin grimaced as mark slammed into a wall, the marble relief adorning it digging harshly into his shoulders. 

“what the fuck is going on, jaemin?”

“tsk, tsk, language mark.”

mark’s eyes dodged around them, down the hallway. no guards, at least, not in this part of the castle yet. 

“what are you not telling me?” mark’s eyes and voice filled with pure worry. this wasn’t like jaemin; to not tell him things. because jaemin told mark everything, and mark told him everything. almost everything….

jaemin sighed, still not saying anything. he had to tell mark about the crown prince and meeting him last night. delaying it any longer, and seeds of doubt may start to sprout in mark’s heart. 

“i... snuck out last night. i know you told me to be careful and not to leave my room, but i needed fresh air. seemed like crown prince had the same idea.”

mark breathed a sigh of relief.

“why didn’t you just say so?”

 _because i’m confused, mark. and that scares me._ jaemin only shrugged his shoulders.

“did you talk to him? what did you find out?” 

jaemin was a bit dumbfounded at mark’s sudden change in demeanor. he would have expected a bit more yelling. but mark lee was also a bit dense, so he hadn’t caught on to jaemin’s underlying tone and for that, jaemin was grateful. 

mark hung on jaemin’s every word as he recounted the details of how he made his way to the royal gardens, orbiting around characteristics of all different flowers a bit too long. with mark’s insistence, he finally moved on. jaemin skimmed the rest of the details until he got to the part when he stumbled upon the crown prince’s private garden. 

jaemin froze a bit, remembering the moment jeno called his name: prince jaemin?

no. no, no. he had to snap out of it. the crown prince should not have this kind of impact on him.

“he was a bit stiff at first, but eased up after we talked a bit.”

mark sighed, folding his arms in front of him. jaemin always thought he looked like a baby when he did this. 

“you probably enjoy flirting with him so much.”

jaemin didn’t miss the jealousy in mark’s voice. cute.

“and does that bother you, mark lee?” jaemin was still sandwiched between the wall and mark, who had his hands on either side of jaemin, caging him in. yet, jaemin knew how to take control of the situation, maneuvering his body so he was leaning forward and slightly towering over mark now. 

mark visibly gulped, knees going slightly weak at jaemin’s growing smirk. jaemin was always friendly, but then his friendliness with mark gave way to more ...flirtatious advances. at first it was just sweeter than usual compliments, to the way jaemin would hold mark’s gaze, to the way his hands would brush mark’s body and then just linger on his skin. 

mark could not lie and say he didn’t enjoy it. enjoy jaemin’s attention on him. over the last few months, mark’s friendly feelings towards the younger boy had become more and more confusing. at first, mark had simply thought it was him finding out comfort in the pretty boy as a close friend. but as time went on… mark wanted more.

but, he didn’t know what jaemin wanted. if jaemin wanted anything at all. jaemin was a natural charmer, and mark was just another boy who got caught up in his net. but that didn’t stop mark from flirting back.

“would it upset you if it did bother me?”

“you love me so much, you hate to see me give my attention to another boy, i bet.”

“is that what you called this morning? the way you were staring at him and the way you let him stare back at you?”

jaemin bristled slightly. “i was doing my job.” jaemin’s tone was a bit uncomfortable suddenly.

“na jaemin… if i didn’t know any better, i would think you’re starting to have a crush on the crown prince.” mark laughed as he said it. of course he didn’t believe, he only said it to get under his friend’s skin a bit. this was the part when jaemin would hit his shoulder and pout. 

that pretty pout and sparking eyes and twinkling voice that mark loved so much. 

but jaemin felt his heart twitch a bit, off balance and just a bit erratic. mark had no clue, oblivious as ever. jaemin regained his composure a split second later, his faltering smile replaced with a mischievous grin. 

“the crown prince doesn’t deserve that honour.” jaemin only hoped to convince himself of that.

mark, still unaware, grinned back. he let one of his hands fall from the wall and graze jaemin’s shoulder, fingers lingering a bit before falling back to mark’s side. 

mark lee wanted na jaemin, and he would never let lee jeno get in the way of that. 

**Author's Note:**

> hi @jenoharem on twt hehe^^ :-) UPDATE: I GOT SUSPENDED AGAIN. i kind of left stan twt but ill finish my current fics before i take indefinite break from (fic) writing but if anyone cares my account twt as of rn is @jenfaerie


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